Seeing God in the Super Bowl

The most astounding
story of the week: Half of American sports fans think God or a supernatural
force can influence the outcome of games.

Here’s the key paragraph from the Huffington Post report on this phenomenon:

(The) percentage includes Americans who pray for God to help their team (26 percent), think
their team has been cursed (25 percent) or more generally believe God is involved in determining
who wins on the court or in the field (19 percent). Overall, half of Americans fall into one of
these groups, according to the survey Public Religion Research Institute released Tuesday.

Now let’s think this through for a minute, using football since it’s the sport of the
moment.

First of all, why would God intervene in a football game?

I think we can rule out God having a fantasy team. When you’re the all-powerful creator of
the universe, you don’t really need fantasies.

I also doubt God bets on games. She owns the universe, so there would really be no reason for
her to try to pick up an extra $50 on the ‘49ers-Seahawks game.

I suppose God could use games to reward deserving teams and fans, thereby sending a message
to the rest of us about the advantages of right living. But I’ve looked back at the winners of the
last 12 Super Bowls, and I’m not seeing any obviously holy factions. OK, you could argue New
Orleans, after enduring Hurricane Katrina, deserved a lift in 2010. (They are called the Saints,
after all.)

But New York? It’s not especially holy nor especially humble and yet the Giants have titles
in the last six years. What message would I take from that? Arrogance is next to godliness?

Furthermore, I see theological contradictions in the idea that God has a hand in the outcome
of football games. Wouldn’t God, being all-knowing, already know who was going to win. And if she
doesn't know, then how can she be all-knowing?

If God is, in fact, tinkering with the outcome, how extensive is her involvement? Does she
just direct the occasional pass into the hands of a wide receiver or is she there on every down,
causing linebackers to overcommit and safeties to get caught looking into the backfield? Was poor
Luke Fickell, OSU defensive coordinator, simply outcoached by God in the Ohio State-Michigan State
game?

If God does intervene, I think she'd have to be pretty subtle about it. If sports fans detected
the hand of God in games, wouldn’t they stop watching sports? The very essence of their appeal is
their unpredictability and suspense. If fans really think God is pulling the strings, then what’s
the point of screaming and carrying on? They'd be better off whispering the rosary or
something.

Or perhaps God enjoys matching wits with the greatest minds in the game. God vs. Bill Belichick:
it does sound like an interesting contest.